The CyberWire Daily Briefing for 1.27.2014
Reuters reports an intrusion into an Israeli Defense Ministry network. The vector was an attachment to an email that spoofed a Shin Bet sender.
The Syrian Electronic Army's (SEA) exploit against CNN last week was accomplished through phishing (described as an "intense, sophisticated attack"). The SEA has also claimed responsibility for a recent attack on Microsoft, which the software company reported this weekend might have compromised information related to "law enforcement inquiries."
Unrest in Ukraine has been accompanied by information operations (apparently regime-directed) against protesters and dissidents. (And compare CrowdStrike's trend forecast, which predicts that cyber attacks in 2014 will be increasingly linked to political conflict.)
US Federal Courts experienced a brief outage Friday. Despite claims to the contrary from Tweeters calling themselves "the European Cyber Army, " what was initially thought to be a denial-of-service attack appears instead to have been a software glitch.
Friday's Gmail travails are also ascribed to error.
Craft-supply retailer Michaels is the latest US merchant to disclose a credit card breach.
Two relatively new threats engage vulnerability researchers: acoustic methods of bridging air gaps and the prospect of weaponized virtual currencies.
In industry news, VMWare's acquisition of AirWatch is seen as an enterprise mobility management play. Google buys British artificial intelligence company DeepMind for $500M. Lockheed Martin and EMC expand operations in Israel; Prime Minister Netanyahu thinks the economic benefit of opening the country's cyber market outweigh the potential security risks.
In the US, surveillance policy takes curious partisan detours. Snowden alleges US economic espionage.
Notes.
Today's issue includes events affecting Canada, European Union, Germany, Israel, Republic of Korea, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States..
For a complete running list of events, please visit the Event Tracker.
Upcoming Events
Security (, Jan 1, 1970) In this half-day live event, the Dark Reading & InformationWeek team will join with top industry experts to offer a look at the latest and most sophisticated threats — including targeted attacks and advanced persistent threats (APTs). Some of the industry's best-known personalities and vendors will be on hand to discuss the latest attack trends, the motivations, methods, and tools behind them, and how enterprises' cyber defense strategies must change to stop these new threats.
Virus Bulletin International Conference (, Jan 1, 1970) The conference will include a programme of 30-minute presentations running in two concurrent streams. Unlike in previous years, the streams will not be distinguished as 'corporate' and 'technical'. Instead, the two streams will be split into themed sessions covering both traditional AV issues and some slightly broader aspects of security.
Cybertech — Cyber Security Conference and Exhibition (Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan 27 - 29, 2014) Cybertech Israel, the first event of its kind, will present world-leading companies in the field of cyber defense alongside young companies that offer unique solutions to advance the discipline of cyber security. The conference will focus on commercial problem-solving strategies and solutions for cyber infrastructure experts across multiple sectors: energy, utilities, finance, defense, R&D, manufacturing, service sectors, health, government, telecommunications, transportation and more.
U.S. Census Data Protection & Privacy Day (Suitland, Maryland, USA, Jan 28, 2014) The Census Bureau's Privacy Compliance Branch of the Policy Coordination Office is hosting a Data Protection and Privacy Day on January 28. This event is intended to provide a forum for Census employees and contractors to discuss current data protection and privacy policy and to generate ideas to help evolve the current policies . The event will feature various participants from the U.S. Census Bureau as well as other government agencies and industry.
2014 Cybersecurity Innovation Forum (Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Jan 28 - 30, 2014) The 2014 Cybersecurity Innovation Forum (CIF) is a three-day event, sponsored by the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) with DHS, NIST, and NSA as primary participating organizations. The CIF will cover the existing threat landscape and provide presentations and keynotes on current and emerging practices, technologies and standards. The 2014 CIF will provide action-oriented outputs to fuel voluntary principle-driven consensus-based standards efforts, create opportunities for industry growth and drive research activities, and define use cases for subsequent exploration, which in turn will feed back into the subsequent CIF's, continually evolving the state of the art.
Cyber Training Forum at NGA (Springfield, Virginia, USA, Feb 4, 2014) The 2014 Cyber Security Training Forum (CSTF) will take place at the NGA East Campus in Springfield, VA. This event is designed to provide education and training to the NGA Workforce, the Intelligence Community, and Industry. The CSTF will include keynotes, breakout sessions, and cyber security demonstrations from industry.
U.S. Department of Commerce Technology Expo (, Jan 1, 1970) Department of Commerce is interested in hearing from you! The OCIO Office is specifically looking for speakers on Vulnerability Management and Implementation of Continuous Monitoring. Please contact your FBC representative to submit an abstract today.
Cyber Security 2014 (, Jan 1, 1970) The threats and the opportunities conference brings together over 150 business leaders, senior decision makers, business development managers and IT professionals from across the whole defence and security supply chain, from Prime Contractors, through tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers, SMEs and those at the front of R&D and the development of new and innovative products and services. The event will provide a unique opportunity for those within the whole supply chain to understand both the current and future threat of Cyber Security on the supply chain and what action will need to be taken to mitigate these and ensure we are fit to compete in the future — both as businesses and as a country. Organisations who have confirmed their attendance include: RBS, Finmeccanica Selex, Thales, MOD, Scottish Government, Lockheed Martin UK, BAE Systems and others.
Security Analyst Summit 2014 (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Feb 9 - 13, 2014) The Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit (SAS) is an annual event connecting anti-malware researchers and developers, global law enforcement agencies and CERTs and members of the security research community. The goal is to learn, debate, share and showcase cutting-edge research, new technologies and discuss ways to improve collaboration in the fight against cyber-crime.
FBI HQ Cloud Computing Vendor Day (, Jan 1, 1970) As part of its FAR mandated market research efforts and in order to keep FBI employees informed of new products, technologies and services available in the industry, ITED has been tasked with organizing four 'Vendor Days' a year focusing on technology that can enhance current IT capabilities. These market research events will enhance exposure for all Department of Justice (DOJ)/Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employees to new products and services and to have an opportunity to interact directly with the industry. Vendor days are for demo purposes only and are designed to facilitate FBI market research efforts. Attending vendors shall make all inquiries concerning pending or future FBI requirements to the cognizant FBI contracting officer.
New FFIEC Guidelines on Social Media: 3 Things You Need to Know (, Jan 1, 1970) We'll take an in-depth look at the new Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) guidelines on social media and consumer compliance risk, and how they may impact your organization. We'll break down nearly 20 pages of dense government material, distilling the key topics for legal, compliance, risk and finance professionals.
RSA Conference USA (San Francisco, California, USA, Feb 24 - 28, 2014) Hundreds of game-changing interactions will give you an unparalleled diversity of industry insight and information based on best practices, real implementation stories, and detailed case studies. Each year, educational sessions feature new and returning educational tracks you won't find anywhere else.
Nellis AFB Technology & Cyber Security Expo (, Jan 1, 1970) For over 12 years, the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) - Las Vegas Chapter and FBC have been co-hosting the Annual Information Technology Expo at Nellis AFB. As was the case last year, the 2014 event will once again have a Cyber Security theme. This is an excellent opportunity for any technology or cyber company to meet with the personnel at Nellis AFB, as well as the local AFCEA members.
Trustworthy Technology Conference (, Jan 1, 1970) Join us for the first Trustworthy Technology Conference, to be held on 27 February 2014 at the AMC Metreon Theatre in San Francisco, California. We welcome all security researchers, practitioners and citizens who are interested in discussing the technical, legal and ethical underpinnings of a stronger social contract between users and technology.
Creech AFB Technology & Cyber Security Expo (, Jan 1, 1970) The Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) - Las Vegas Chapter, with support from the 432d Wing, will host a Cyber Security Awareness Day & Technology Expo at Creech AFB. This is an excellent opportunity for technology, cyber and tactical technology companies to meet with remote personnel at Creech AFB. At the 1st Annual event held in February 2013 over 100 Creech AFB personnel attended this event. Some of their job descriptions included: Commander, Flight Chief, Communications Officer in Charge, IT Lead, Systems Admin, Wing Training, Information Assurance Officer, Knowledge Management, Section Chief, Avionics, Physical Security, Project Manager, Director and more.